Something else this way comes
by Mynona
Summary: After fifth year Harry is again stuck at the Dursleys. One night he meets a strange woman, who's neither muggle nor witch. AU story since HBP hasn't happened in my universe.
1. Chapter 1

Discaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything that's associated with that name. I do, however, own plot and the oc's occuring in this story.

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Harry's summer had so far been the worst he could remember. His relatives had gone out of their way not to notice him, that included around mealtimes. He wasn't too bad off, he guessed, it could have been worse. He was mostly the one to prepare the food so he could sneak away a spoonful or two of whatever he was cooking. That was, of course, dependant on his uncle not being there. The only upside was that as long as

When it came to the magical world, he had had no news since he left the train on Kings Cross. Harry was just hoping that the old proverb was true, no news is good news, right? He was still required to write to the order once every three days but he never got any replies in return. Several times he'd wandered outside, alone, to see if he could catch any of his 'watchers' from the order but so far he hadn't been able to see neither hide nor hair, from anyone.

Almost a month and a half had passed since the… fiasco… in the Ministry of Magic. The fiasco during which Harry had lost his godfather, one of the last connections he'd had to his dead parents. Suffice to say that even without the Dursleys this summer wouldn't have been one of Harry's best. The Dursleys ignoring him also led to him having a lot of free time, time he spent thinking.

Harry was currently sitting in a swing at the playground at the end of the street. Dinnertime had passed an hour or so ago but since the Dursleys had eaten out to celebrate something or other Harry hadn't eaten anything. Twilight was descending and he hadn't really expected to meet anyone outside at this point but he was to be surprised.

Down the street came a young woman who looked more than a bit lost. She was rather short, even for a woman, but she didn't look young, not exactly. She had to be somewhere around 20. Her hair was long, almost reaching her waist, and it was a colour somewhere between blond and brown. She was wearing a pair of black trousers and what looked like a green blouse, and old-fashioned blouse at that. It even had embroidery along the cuffs and collar, it glinted oddly in the light from the streetlights that had just been turned on.

"Um… Excuse me." She said. "You haven't happened to have seen a really tall, pale guy with almost white hair down to his waist or a shorter, but equally blond man with short hair pass by here, have you?"

"No." Harry answered truthfully. He hadn't seen anyone in the last hour.

"Dammit! The first time I really didn't want to lose them and I manage to get lost." She sighed and looked at Harry. "Do you mind if I join you? I think my best bet is to wait for them to find me. No one had warned me that it was possible to get this very lost in the suburbs."

"Er, you can sit if you want to." Harry offered confused. This woman was nothing like he'd ever met before. The closest thing must have been Tonks but there was something about this woman that Tonks did not have.

"Thanks. My name's Alexis, by the way." She'd seated herself on the swing next to his.

"Harry, Harry Potter." He offered, waiting to see if she'd recognise the name or if she was a muggle.

"Nice to meet you Harry." She said and Harry noticed the lack of searching for his scar that noted her as muggle. "Do you live here?"

"I do." Harry answered. "Eh, it's nice to meet you too, Alexis."

"Good to know. I really don't know what happened to my companions. They did say two left and then the second street on the right, didn't they?" Alexis muttered partly to herself and partly to Harry.

"I wouldn't know." Harry thought it was an odd question to ask someone you'd never met before. "Where were you going?"

"I don't know, I think it was supposed to be a surprise. Some surprise, eh?" Alexis said with a bit of humour in her voice.

"I guess. But why would they leave you like that if you didn't know the way?" He wondered.

"I don't know, they're usually more considerate than that. Father really isn't going to like this." A rueful Alexis noted.

"Overprotective?" Harry asked. Overprotective was better than the other option.

"Yes, very. Though I have to agree that I might need it. I haven't really been the epitome of obedient daughter." She said with a slight wince.

"Doesn't it get… tedious? Having someone guarding you all the time?" Harry asked, knowing from his own experience that this was the case. He just wanted to know if this was usual or if he really was strange for feeling that way.

"To tell you the truth. It's very, very annoying. I've learnt to accept it, but sometimes I do try to get away, mostly when they've been on my toes too many times. I wasn't aiming for that today, though."

"You really do get annoyed?"

"I do, I also tend to spend a lot of time yelling at them when they do. Father's realised that sometimes I do need time to myself, no matter what he feels like. There you are!" Harry quickly looked around and he could barely see two persons moving towards them in the growing dark. He guessed that the two men were the two that Alexis had been looking for earlier. He was a bit unnerved though, how could he have missed them when he'd tried to adopt Moody's 'constant vigilance'?

"Where did you go?" The tall man asked, he sounded annoyed. Harry hoped that the woman wouldn't be in trouble.

"I got lost, you two moved too fast. I tried to follow your directions but I ended up walking in circles, all the houses look the same!"

"You ought to…" The tall man started but he never had time to finish.

"Don't try my patience." Alexis said with a soft voice but it did shut the man right up. He didn't look happy but he was quiet. The shorter man didn't say anything but he didn't look like he wanted to either.

"You've got spies." The tall man finally relented.

"They're not mine, they're Harry's. Though I think they're protectors rather than spies." How in the whole world had the woman known that? Harry hadn't seen them and he had been actively looking for them. Apparently his so called protectors didn't like it either because Mungdungus Fletcher, who according to Harry shouldn't be allowed to guard him, stepped out from the dark corner behind which he had been lurking. He smelled, his clothes left much to be desired and the line he walked wasn't really straight but he was angry. He was also determined not to make another mistake, which is why he had now brandished his wand and descended on the muggles.

"No!" Harry shouted at the same time as Alexis did but curiously enough she seemed to direct it at the tall man rather than the advancing wizard.

"It was nice meeting you Harry." Alexis said before turning around. "We're leaving." And for some reason both her companion's followed her without a word. The tall man glared a bit at Fletcher but followed Alexis. Harry didn't know why but Fletcher just stood there with his wand out. Harry hurried home, he'd had enough strange meetings to last him through the next week. He was the Boy-who-lived, though, so maybe this nights encounter should fall under the 'normal' label.


	2. Chapter 2

For disclaimer see first chapter.

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The summer had turned suckier, at least in Harry's opinion. The last week had been pouring down with rain, Harry swore that he'd seen a school of fish swim by his window, and he had been stuck inside. Neither his aunt nor his uncle wanted to spend money on buying him waterproofed clothing so Harry hadn't been forced outside. Apparently it would have been deemed 'freaky' to leave the house without at least a coat. The downside was that even though he hid in 'his' room he'd been forced to interact with his relatives far too often. The inactivity seemed to annoy his uncle as much as it did him. That was not a good combination. He'd dealt with it the usual way, kept his head down and his mouth shut and so far nothing more drastic than a couple of cuffs over his ear had happened. Harry was suddenly less averse to gardening than he'd been in years. He longed to be outside, to do anything but to sit inside with only his thoughts for company.

His thoughts, yes. They'd focused even more on Sirius when the weather turned bad. Was it really so that the weather could dictate our moods or was it simply so that it had really caught up with him? No more Sirius. No more letters arriving by strange birds. No more snuffles. No more godfather. No more Sirius.

A meaty hand rustling his doorknob brought him out of his reverie.

"It has stopped raining, boy. Your aunt's flowers need preening." The boards in the stairs creaked as Vernon descended. Harry sighed and rose from the bed he'd been perched on. No time like the present. He was rather glad, to be honest, to have been given something to do.

The constant rain had almost turned the flowerbeds into ponds but Harry soon began to correct that by digging miniature trenches. It was heavy and dirty to work with the sodden soil and soon he was too tired to think of anything but what he was doing. Where to next put the shovel, to move and to again use the shovel. When he'd finished it was almost dark, strange considering they usually called him to make dinner. He tried to enter the house but his aunt was soon there to stop him.

"You can't get into my newly cleaned house looking like that, boy!" She screeched. Maybe it was her house but it was Harry who'd done the cleaning. He did make any fuss, though, he was too tired to.

"But aunt Petunia, the shower's in there." He said and pointed into the house.

"I know that boy. You'll can use the hose." Said hose only had cold water. A little belatedly Harry got angry. Who were they to treat him like a dog who'd been playing in the mud? On their orders, by the way. The question answered itself, though. They were his relatives who he needed for the blood protection they offered. The defiance Harry'd previously felt bled away. He hung his head and moved to do what his aunt had told him to. It wasn't the end of the world, once he'd gotten clean he could hurry upstairs and take a long, hot shower.

That night Harry was again hunted by nightmares, not the usual kind, in which Sirius had started featuring frequently, but the other kind, the one connected to his scar. He found himself in a circle of Voldemort's followers, more commonly known as Death Eaters. They were all bowing, showing their deference for their lord. A lord that now entered the circle.

Harry decided to look around since he didn't particularly want to see everyone kissing the hem of Voldemort's robe. They were all standing on a windswept hill, tall grass whipped around the figures. The tall grass should have meant that it wasn't visited all that often but here and there paths had been made and the grass was trampled in more than one place. Despite being more airy than Voldemort's usual meeting places, it still filled Harry with a sense of dread. The sky was clear overhead, the gibbous moon shone amongst the stars. Harry couldn't help but to feel that the weather should have been bad, if it wasn't for the dark shapes this place could have been beautiful.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see that Voldemort was ready to speak. That mostly meant that someone would be crucioed soon and Harry would have a hard time explaining to his uncle why he was screaming loud enough to wake most of the neighbourhood. Before that could happen another figure wandered into view. At first Harry thought that it was just a muggle who was really in the wrong place at the wrong time but after initially being startled by Voldemort pointing a wand at him he seemed to gain confidence. One, two steps forward and the man stopped. At least Harry thought that it was a male, though it might as well have been a female, it wasn't possible to tell when, whomever it was, was wearing such a long cloak and with a hood. It should have been very similar to the Death Eater uniform but it wasn't, somehow the garment looked different. More classy, somehow, as if it were the Malfoy of clothing. Harry brought his thoughts to an abrupt halt as soon as he realised he'd thought Malfoy.

"I came as you bid, lord." The stranger said and bowed low. He was wearing a robe with a hood so Harry couldn't see who it was but he didn't recognise the voice at all.

"Our guest of the evening have arrived. Armin, if you please." Voldemort said with that sibilant hiss that makes his voice match his looks. The Death Eaters had risen and was now nervously hovering behind their lord, who hadn't deemed it fit to inform them of why they were gathering today. Harry was more interested in the newcomer, though. Hopefully he'd lest something slip, something that Harry could tell Dumbledore, anything at all.

Armin, which was the newcomer's name, silently followed the gesture Voldemort had made and ended up quite close to the man in question. Voldemort reached over and with pale, spidery hands removed the hood. The face that appeared underneath was Slavic, to go with his name, of course. There was nothing remarkable about it at all, except for the utter lack of distinguishing features. He did appear to be a tad bit nervous, despite the confidence, but not many people doesn't get unnerved in the presence of a man who's face looks like the result of genetic manipulation gone horribly wrong. Armin's dark eyes flitted from Voldemort to his followers and back again. He was expecting something to happen, perhaps?

"How did it go, were you able to establish contact?" Voldemort asked.

"I left them your message and they said they would have an answer within two weeks time, lord."

"Good, definitely good, and you're sure that the offer will tempt them?"

"Of course, lord, I was, after all, a part of them for a long time." Ah, Harry thought, a traitor. He didn't know anyone in the order by the name of Armin but it was now really important that he contacted Dumbledore. This might be a constructed dream but doubting one of the members wouldn't hurt the order, would it? But by the sound of it Armin had already left the order. Harry hadn't heard of anyone having left the order but it was of less importance. If the could find Armin they could use Veritaserum or something on him to make him tell the truth. The edges of Harry's vision started to blur, the dream was slipping away from him. For once, he wanted to stay with the dream, he tried to but it slipped away faster and faster until all he saw was the ceiling of his bedroom.

He hurried to get his glasses on, which only made him push them to the floor and for a few frantic moments he was on all fours trying to find them again. He stumbled towards the desk where he kept some parchment hidden some miscellaneous items to keep his relatives from finding it. It wasn't until he snubbed his toe in the desk that he calmed down.

Taking a few deep breaths Harry realised that his hurried fumbling only led to everything taking more time rather than less. He listened intently for a second or so, just checking that his relatives hadn't woken up by the noise he'd created. Before going back to his bed and, bending down, fishing the flashlight out from under it. He went to the desk again and this time he actually found the parchment he had been looking for. In the light of the flashlight he composed a letter to Dumbledore telling of what he'd learnt in his dream. He even took the time to read it over again to check so it didn't sound to desperate or hurried. Harry badly wanted to appear as if he'd thought before he acted, especially after what happened at the ministry.

He made his way over to Hedwig's cage and carefully roused the sleeping owl. Her only response was a soft hoot, maybe she'd understood the importance of keeping quiet. He carefully tied the letter to her leg and asked her to hurry on her trip to find the headmaster. She gave him a look that clearly stated that she was a high-class bird and she'd never do something so crass as not to hurry. Harry apologised to Hedwig and hoped that she wouldn't voice her complaint out loud. Thankfully she didn't but the nib she gave his nose as goodbye was a tad bit harder than the usual ones.

Harry looked at his watch and when he noticed it was only half past two in the morning. He decided to go back to bed where he spent another hour tossing and turning trying to figure out who the Armin character was and what he wanted. And why he'd turned to Voldemort only to become a traitor. What drove anyone to betray what they held dear, their family and their beliefs? A traitor was one of the bad guys, he or she had to be since they'd broken the trust someone had put in them. Wouldn't that mean that Snape was one of the bad guys, though. He was spying for the light, Harry amended, but if all traitors were bad, as he'd first concluded, it would mean that it was better to keep being bad than to turn to the light. Snape had been part of what killed Sirius. He couldn't be both a bad guy and a good guy, he was either or. Somehow his arguments didn't fit, somewhere, something was off. He fell asleep before he could figure it out, though.

The next morning dawned and despite the rude wakeup call, courtesy of his aunt, he couldn't help but to feel a little bit better, a little bit happier than the day before. He didn't even notice that he was humming when he prepared breakfast until Vernon, rather rudely, yelled at him to shut up. Quiet but still light at heart Harry served breakfast and did the dishes afterwards. It wasn't hard work, only time-consuming. Dudley was still, officially, on a diet though unofficially this was not the case. Petunia couldn't understand how a person, a professional nurse nonetheless, couldn't see the difference between a fat person and her healthy, though big boned, baby boy. Of course, there was also what every good parent knew, dieting was bad for growing children, they were to have plenty of food. This is why Dudley once again ate bacon for breakfast. Harry only thought that it was cruel to force Dudley to become a cannibal, he was a pig look-alike, after all.

Harry was forced out into the garden, again, and spent most of his day there. Only for a short while, in the middle of the day, was he allowed inside for a glass of water. The rest of the family had left to have lunch in London with one of Vernon's business partners. There was even locks on the fridge and the cupboards put there by Petunia to be sure that their freak of a nephew wouldn't ruin their food. The mood that Harry had woken up with had dissipated by the time his relatives returned.

The following two weeks that led to Harry's birthday were conducted much in the same way, work and little food. Every third day he dutifully composed letters to the order though they were getting shorter and shorter. At this point they mainly said 'I'm ok' and nothing more. He was still waiting for a reply from Dumbledore but none seemed forthcoming. Harry'd decided that one letter was enough and that if Dumbledore didn't reply to it he would accept that. Tonight was Harry's last night as a 15 year old.

Having sent Hedwig off earlier with his letter to the order Harry prepared himself for the wake he traditionally sat until the stroke of midnight, signalling his birthday. This year the wait was worse than usual, not going to sleep wasn't hard, the hard part was not to think of what'd happened during the year.

Had he dared he would have done some homework had he dared to, but the first thing Vernon had done when they'd come home from King's Cross was to throw all Harry's things, except for Hedwig, in the cupboard under the stairs. He'd proceeded to lock the door with several newly added locks. Harry'd early on decided that the tentative peace that now existed between him and his relatives wasn't worth arguing over his books. The knowledge that he couldn't procrastinate his homework forever hadn't exactly made him feel better. It was a trouble better left off for a later time, and preferably, when it was earlier in the day. He looked at the watch again, one and a half hour to go.

He was turning 16. 16 used to be counted as adult, many years ago. What differed now from then? Well, people lived longer, does that mean that you're young longer or is there any other reason 16 is now looked down upon as 'young'. It is halfway through the teens. If 16 year olds could be mature than Harry would try to be too. There was a lot he was supposed to do, after all. He was the only one that could kill Voldemort, the dark lord. He promised himself that he was going to do it, he had to, but he knew that the times he'd fought Voldemort before were purely won by luck. Harry realised that he'd have to work to be able to win. He didn't have to like it, though. Neither did he have to like the fact that he had to fight Voldemort. No one had ever asked him whether he wanted to or not. He would, of course, do it, because it's the right thing to do. Fighting the bad guys, that's what the good guys do.

The clock ticked closer to the awaited midnight mark. Only five minutes to go now, five very long minutes but still only minutes. Harry got up and opened the window as quietly as he could. Judging from his experience from earlier years it was better this way. Now the owls could fly straight in instead of knocking on the window. Anything that reduced the chance of waking his relatives up was a good idea. He looked out through the window but he couldn't see anything. He knew that his dark-vision was bad, people with glasses often have that problem, but shouldn't he at least be able to pick out owls? There were only a couple of minutes left.

When the numbers on his digital clock changed to 00:00 there was still an absence of owls. One minute, two, three ticked by and still there wasn't any owls. Worried, confused and a bit angry Harry went back to bed, though he didn't close the window. Maybe he clock was just running fast. A quarter past a small tawny owl makes an appearance. Harry sat up straighter as the bird made its way through the room. Well safely landed on the mattress next to Harry it extends its leg. Harry carefully untied the small piece of string that kept the scrap of parchment tied to the owl's leg.

_Dear Harry, _

_Since Voldemort has started recruiting new followers we've felt the need to do everything in our power to keep you hidden. You must understand that it is only for your own safety I've made you unable to receive owls, all except this one. I've also chosen not to give you your Hogwart's letter since you won't be able to go shopping in Diagon Alley, it's simply too dangerous. Don't worry, your gifts, and what literature you need for the upcoming year, will be waiting for you when you return to Hogwarts. _

_Signed_

_Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster._

How could he have done something like this? Didn't the headmaster understand what it meant not to have any contact with his friends? What had he done to deserve this? Sure, he had a madman out for his blood but it couldn't be as bad as the Headmaster made it sound, could it? He hadn't heard about any strange occurrences on the news or in the papers, when he'd gotten the chance to read or watch them that is. Harry didn't get the Daily Prophet but according to Dumbledore's letter he wouldn't have gotten it anyways, but still, the muggles ought to have picked up on something. The whole situation was just strange. He offered the owl to stay for a while but it soon disappeared out the window. Harry got up and closed it before going to bed. No matter what'd happened, or not, tonight there was still another day tomorrow and neither Aunt Petunia nor Uncle Vernon would care if it was his birthday or not. He'd be forced into doing chores anways.

Harry attacked the next weed with such frenzy that he wasn't even sure what it had before he got his hands on it. He just hoped that it wasn't one of his aunts prized flowers, that could have proven to be disastrous. He hurried to hide the little that was left of the evidence. Soon the last pieces of the shredded plant ended up with the rest of the garden compost. A shadow suddenly fell over his crouched form. This was very strange since he could usually hear when His relatives closed in on him, it wasn't as if they were the most graceful of people. When he turned around he realised that it was not anyone he knew. Actually it was, when he thought a bit he recognised the woman standing on the grass. It was Alexis, the woman who'd gotten lost some weeks ago and she'd talked to him on the swings.

Today she was escorted by a shorter, but stockier blond, and a black haired man that seemed to be very tall. It was a bit hard to judge from the ground, though. Harry carefully straightened up and held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you again, Harry." She said while she shook his hand. The Blond that had accompanied her almost cringed at the action but Harry didn't pay any attention to it. He must have gotten the sun in his eye or something. The darker man, with green eyes just like himself, Harry was startled to discover, only smiled good-naturedly.

"This might sound like an odd question, Harry, but do you know anyone called Voldemort?" Harry almost flinched at the question. Not because of the name, no he was smarter than to be frightened by a name, but what the question meant, in it self. Alexis obviously had no idea who Voldemort was, or even what the magical world was. Where had she heard the name?

"Why do you want to know?" She watched him closely. Obviously she wasn't someone easy to trick.

"Someone contacted us a while ago and wanted us to join with 'lord Voldemort'. I did recognise your name in the missive, though, he wants our help to kill you, if you're the Harry Potter he mentions. And I thought, who needs help to kill an adolescent boy?" When she'd said that much he almost felt compelled to tell her at least a little in return.

"Yes I know of Voldemort, and I'm also the Harry Potter." He hesitated for a bit, not sure how to proceed. He'd never met anyone involved that didn't know the story. "Voldemort is a Dark Lord, he wants to take over the magical world and kill all muggles…er, non-magical people. I'm supposedly his arch-nemesis." He stopped talking for a heartbeat or two before launching the question, which had been rearing its ugly head. "What was your reply, to the missive I mean?"

"No. Though the offer was tempting, we knew there was something off about it. Especially since the sender couldn't even kill a teenager by himself." She snorted at the thought. Harry didn't know whether to be grateful or put out. Grateful for at least not getting even more enemies but it was a little annoying to be dissed so completely just because he happened to be young. After all, wasn't he the only one who'd ever survived the killing curse? He'd also stood up to Voldemort several times, and gotten away alive. And he wasn't that bad a wizard, all in all. Considering that the woman was just a muggle, what right had she to look down on him like that? He was just about to speak up again when the black haired man spoke.

"We've got company." And Harry saw that they did. A female clad in ratty clothing of dark pants and what had been a white t-shirt. There was something crazed in her eyes, though, something Harry definitely didn't want to come in close contact with.

"Ermina." The same man said though Alexis nodded in agreement.

"So it's true." She said. "At least some of the rogues have joined Voldemort. We can't not act, we have to tell Him." Her voice was suddenly cold and hard, a far cry from the open persona she'd shown earlier. For some reason her right hand was drawn to her left wrist. Although she'd told Harry that they weren't Death Eaters he couldn't help but to worry.


	3. Chapter 3

For disclaimer see first chapter.

oooooo

There seemed to be some kind of impasse, everyone waiting for someone else to move. Harry thought that somehow the new person was on the opposite side of whichever side Alexis occupied. He wasn't all clear about which side that was, though. Things were getting tense, Alexis was still touching her left wrist with her right. The two men that had come with her were standing completely still. Ermina was ever so slowly crouching down, preparing for something.

In a flurry of movements, Ermina launched herself at Harry, to his great surprise. However, by some strange feat of acrobatics Alexis managed to insert herself between the attacker and the would-be victim. Ermina sneered and brandished a vicious looking knife, before Harry had time to shout a warning Alexis had launched herself at the attacker. Harry wasn't completely sure what happened next but in a few seconds there was a dead body with the head cut off laying on the driveway. Alexis was standing besides it with a bloodied knife in one hand and a small smile on her face. Both men were straining in place, like dogs on the end of their leads. Alexis held out her hand and the dark haired man handed her a handkerchief.

"Thanks, Emilio. We need to get rid of this, now." She said, wiping her hand free of the blood that had stained it. She did look a bit disgusted when she realised that there were spots of blood on her shirt.

Harry's brain just engaged again and he realised that a dead body on the driveway would cause him some serious trouble and not just with his aunt and uncle but with the local authorities as well. He was just about to point this out when two more blond men stepped forward as if from thin air. Harry was quite sure that they hadn't apparated, the lack of sound was a clue, but where had they come from. They quickly disposed of the body and most of the blood that had managed to seep out. Harry once again tried to speak up but this time he was cut off by a rather upset Remus wandered into the scene.

"What is going on here? Harry, get inside, it isn't safe, we don't know these people." Apparently it had been Remus' turn to watch him.

"Back off." Alexis ordered and to the surprise of both Harry and Remus, the werewolf did, with lowered eyes and generally looking subservient. "This is no place to discuss this, suffice to say is that Harry here, is in danger." Harry saw her point, his aunt and uncle's front lawn was definitely not the right place to discuss this, or anything, really. He'd been lucky they were out and hadn't been here to see the… killing.

"Where?" Harry asked. "I shouldn't leave the house." He added, sadly. At least Alexis didn't seem as if she was going to say anything about where they'd met before.

"Um, you're a wizard, right? Can't you make a ward against people noticing us?"

"Harry can't." Remus answered. "And I can't either, but I can put up wards against anyone listening in. If you promise to tell me what this is all about."

"I can only tell what I know." Alexis replied and waited. It took a second or two before Harry realised that maybe they should move to the back of the house. That way they would be shielded from people seeing them. He led the way, feeling only slightly ridiculous, and the others follow, though Harry knew very well that they could have found their own way. Once there Remus makes four small marks in the ground with his wand before telling everyone to keep inside them. Then he mumbles an incantation, Harry thinks he doesn't want to speak it out loud, in case the not-quite-muggles hear. They are strange, Harry decides, because they aren't magical, or they would have had wands of their own, and they'd also have been able to erect the ward themselves. Yet, they aren't muggle, they know of magic. Maybe they were squibs? Or at least Alexis was, it was, after all, her that made most of the talking.

"Why don't we start with introducing ourselves?" Remus asks, politely, though there is a not of barely hidden suspicion in his voice.

"I'm Alexis Smith, this is Emilio Estevanza." Alexis says, completely ignoring the blond man besides her. Emilio is the black haired man. Harry took the time to study the three people a bit. He knew that Remus would keep them occupied for a while.

Alexis was neither tall nor short but in the presence of Emilio she appeared small. She had a friendly face, blue eyes and long hair. The hair wavered somewhere between a light brown and a dark blond but where the light hit it there was highlights in copper and gold. It was lighter than last time he'd seen it but that could have been the lighting. She wore similar clothes to last time, though instead of a blouse she wore a tight green top. She looked more relaxed now than last time. Harry tried to spot where she'd put her knife but couldn't see it. He also didn't want to be too obvious in his starring.

Before she had a chance to notice Harry moved his eyes to the right of the woman and they ended up on Emilio, a very tall Emilio. He must have been the tallest man Harry'd ever met. He had black hair and green eyes not unlike his own. He also wore dark trousers, it seemed to be a theme amongst the group, though Emilio's looked as if they were made from leather. He wore a strange blueish grey shirt that did nothing for his rather pale complexion.

On the other side of Alexis the other man stood, tall, but not very tall, and sporting short blond hair and dark blue eyes that met Harry's for a heartbeat. Harry prepared himself to look away but instead it was the stranger that averted his gaze first. The man's shirt were of similar cut as Emilio's though it was a pale green instead of grey.

"Doesn't he have a name?" Remus asks.

"Not while he's on duty, no." She replies. Remus's bright enough not to pursue that particular question.

"On Duty?" Harry asked, confused.

"Yes, he's one of my guards." She answered, looking for all the world as if it was normal for someone to have guards.

"You're guarded all the time?"

"Most of the time." She amended, nodding. Emilio grinned, there was obviously some story behind that, other than loosing her guards, for that's what the other blond men must have been, that first time he'd met her.

"Well, then, I'm Remus Lupin. This is Harry Potter, but you already knew that. Now, would you mind explaining?" Harry couldn't understand why the usually rather friendly werewolf was this terse with Alexis, she hadn't done anything… except saving his life.

"As you wish." She said and settled in one of the garden chairs. Neither of the men accompanying her moved to do the same. Harry decided that he wanted to sit, whether the others did or not, he'd been standing or crouching in the garden all day. "Ermina, and the likes of her, are very dangerous, as you might have noticed, and it seems like they are now working for that Voldemort guy. After what I've heard that's a bad thing for Harry."

"We can protect him." Remus close to growled.

"Are you absolutely positive? It didn't look as if you were doing a good job just then." She replied.

"Harry's already under the threat of You-know-who and his followers, as long as he stays within the wards he's safe. And we're watching him all the time."

"Who? Voldemort? Were Ermina inside the wards when she attacked?"

"Eh… yes, to both questions."

"Have you asked Harry what he thinks about being confined to one house for the whole summer? Add to that that he knows he's followed all the time. He's a teenager, he's embarrassed about stuff as it is, he doesn't need any additional reasons."

"He knows it's for his best!" Remus said.

"That doesn't always help, trust me. A cage is always a cage no matter how pretty." Alexis replied and both of her companions looked at her oddly, perhaps sadly, their expressions were hard to read, or so Harry thought.

"How can you say something like that? His life is on the line!" Remus argued.

"So is mine, I still move about, though. I still have a life worth saving. And shouldn't we rightfully ask Harry about this? Harry?"

"It does kind of suck to be stuck here all the time." Harry said, looking apologetically at Remus. The werewolf looked somewhat stumped. Harry didn't mention that he regularly left the wards to go in search for some time by himself. It seemed as if those who had been watching him during his 'outings' hadn't said anything either. "Headmaster Dumbledore made it so that I couldn't get any mail, I could be traced through it, he said. He didn't even tell me about it until yesterday. On top of that he even intercepted my Hogwarts letter so that I wouldn't be tempted to go to Diagon alley." Harry choose to ignore that his voice had gone slightly hysterical. Remus looked at him sadly.

"You may call me, Remus, Harry. I've said so before. And I didn't know what the Headmaster had done."

"What I can offer are a couple of guards that can keep you safe from the likes of Ermina. I'm not sure how they would react if faced by wizards, though." Alexis said. The blond man looked as if he wanted to protest but instead it was Emilio who spoke.

"Are you sure?"

"We're already involved, we clean up our own messes. He won't disagree."

"La-" The blond man started, unable to keep quiet any longer.

"Do you doubt what I'm saying?" Alexis shot back, not sounding friendly at the least. The blond man gave a quick bow but didn't speak up. Alexis seemed happy with that. Both Harry and Remus watched the scene developing with a mix of amusement and trepidation.

"Is my suggestion acceptable?"

"I can't really decide that without contacting…" Remus started but he saw the torn look decorating Harry's features and stopped.

"What would change?" Harry asked after thinking for a moment or two.

"Well," Alexis started before Remus had a chance to speak. "as I see it, our guards are perfectly able to protect you without impeding on your person. Also, they're able to protect you even outside of the wards. I do not think that stopping your mail or forbidding you from leaving the warded area makes you safer. I think we can work something out." She added with a wink.

"I think you should contact Dumbledore before you make any definite plans." Remus said cautiously.

"The headmaster?" Alexis asked.

"Yes." Harry said, he felt compelled to give some information, if they were going to guard him they ought to know. He was still not sure if he wanted them to or not. It seemed too good an offer. "Albus Dumbledore is Headmaster in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he's also the leader of those who oppose Voldemort." Harry noticed that Remus flinched at the mention of the dark lord's name.

"Okay, but how do we do that?" She asked.

"We owl him." Remus answered.

"Owl? What does that stand for?" Alexis looked confused.

"No." Harry said with a laugh. Apparently Alexis weren't as perfect as he'd first though. She wasn't squib, though, if she had been she would have known about the owls. "We use owls to deliver letters."

"Oh. That doesn't make any sense at all but when in Rome. How do you go about this 'owling'?" Alexis asked.

"You write a letter and give it to a postal owl." Harry patiently explained.

"And one would find one such owl, where exactly?" Alexis seemed intrigued by the idea; Emilio looked as if he was laughing at her while not doing it. She noticed but appeared as if she didn't care.

"Don't worry, I have one. Let me just get Hedwig and some parchment." Harry said before hurrying away.

"I suppose Hedwig is the name of his owl?" He heard Alexis ask. It didn't take long to gather some parchment, a quill and ink, he'd forgotten where he'd put his pen, and he opened the window to allow Hedwig to fly through. He cast a quick glance at the clock and worriedly noted that the Dursleys would return soon.

"Here you are." He said, hoping it would show that he had some kind of manners.

"Thanks." Alexis said and looked at the quill quizzically. "Eh… Emilio, would you mind writing this, you who actually can handle one of these?" She handed the quill to Emilio who smiled and seated himself next to Alexis to be able to put the parchment on the table. He scratched down some words before looking up again.

"What should I write?"

"Tell him that there are some very good assassins that have joined Voldemort. That we, a rather exclusive bodyguard service, offer our help to guard a Mr Harry Potter as we've realised that some of our former employees have converted to the other side. We will supply at least two guards at any given time as long as the threat remains. If needed be we will come to school with Mr Potter to ensure his safety." Alexis went quiet for a bit before adding. "If he feels the need to contact us he can either owl Mr Potter. Give him the address to one of our mailboxes too, just in case. Give it to me to sign." Emilio looked at Alexis for a moment or two before handing her the letter. She signed it with flourish and folded it quickly.

"Now what?" She asked.

"Hedwig." Harry softly called and the white owl came swooping down from the tree she'd been perched in. "Just tie it to her leg." He said offering his arm, complete with owl, to Alexis.

"Why don't you do it?" She said. "I don't think she wants me anywhere near her. Animals have a habit of disliking me."

"Er… Sure." Harry said and took the letter. Cheeking the front of the letter to see that it was addressed he tied it to Hedwig's leg before sending her off while telling her to go to the headmaster. After the owl had left Harry fidgeted a bit.

"Um… my relatives will return soon." He started. He didn't want to confess that if they stayed he'd probably get thrown into his room and wouldn't get fed again until school started.

"I understand." Alexis said. "Well, we're finished here, aren't we? I'll either come by myself or send one of the guards, to see if we've gotten any mail but other than that you shouldn't notice any of them."

"Er, but how will I recognise them?" Harry asked, he had a feeling that Remus also wanted that question asked. It wasn't as if he knew the 'new' guards.

"Don't worry, you will recognise them." Alexis said with a smile before walking through the silence barrier. The blond man turned to say something to her and she replied but neither Harry nor Remus knew what since the ward worked both ways.

"Don't worry Harry, I'm sure everything works out." Remus said and hugged Harry before dispelling the ward and leaving Harry alone in the backyard.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Harry was awakened by Hedwig tapping on the window. He silently cursed himself for forgetting to leave it open but he was also rather surprised that the Headmaster had answered as soon as he'd obviously done. Harry was also a bit irritated because Dumbledore had broken the 'no-mail-delivered' rule he, himself, had instated. His annoyance only rose when he read the letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_I must say that I hadn't expected a letter from you though when I read it I was even more surprised. I must caution you Harry, do not trust these people, some of them have, after all, turned to Voldemort already. I do not wish you hurt. Enclosed in this letter you notice that there is another one, addressed to those people, please see to it that they get it. Do not read it yourself. I know you miss your friends but don't do anything rash just because you do._

_Signed, Albus Dumbledore. _

Harry stood for a long time, contemplating the contents of the letter. He was intrigued by the letter to Alexis, for a short while he considered opening it but he quickly dispelled the idea. He didn't like the Headmaster's way of telling him what to do and not to do, hadn't the old man meddled enough for this summer? He pocketed the letter while looking out of his window to see if he could spot any of his guards, wizards or Alexis' people. He couldn't, but he was sure that he'd seen some kind of movement over there, by the bush in the garden next door. Harry hurried to prepare as he heard his aunt starting to move about. He didn't want to antagonise his relatives now. His wizarding guards had never noticed anything but he didn't know about the new ones and he didn't want to risk it.

The day continued rather uneventful, other than Dudley managing to not only eat his bacon but part of his fork also. Neither his aunt nor his uncle thought that strange, or freaky. Soon Harry was forced outside to mow the lawn and scrub the driveway. There were a couple of dark splotches on it that Vernon though was motor-oil but Harry knew better. He was watering it down when he saw Alexis closing in accompanied by the dark haired man, Emilio, and one of the guards she'd lost the first they met, the one with long blonde hair. Harry's uncle had already left for work so Harry thought it safe to wave at them. He didn't particularly care that Dumbledore had said to stay away from Alexis, she seemed nice enough. And she had saved his life.

"Hello Harry, how's it going?" Alexis asked as she and her 'entourage' drew to a halt next to Harry.

"Hello. I've got a letter for you." Harry produced the letter from a pocket in his overly large jeans. He suddenly felt inadequately dressed. All three of his visitors we're wearing leather pants, that fitted rather snugly, and some sort of shirt. Alexis' tight t-shirt was the same shade of green she'd worn before, as was Emilio's. The longhaired man whose hair was paler than Malfoy's, dammit that was the second time this summer he'd thought about Malfoy, wore a crimson shirt, the exact shade of red that fresh blood has. It was a little odd that they wore full length trousers and boots in the summer but Harry figured it was some kind of sect thing. Or whatever they were part of, the 'elite bodyguard service' or something in those lines.

The blond, another of Alexis' guards, or so Harry thought, was studying Harry quite intently while Alexis read the letter and Emilio read it over her shoulder. Harry tried not to fidget under the cold blue gaze, knowing that he, himself, had been staring earlier.

"Thank you for delivering the letter, Harry." Alexis said when she'd finished reading.

"Eh… no problem." Just then Harry heard the front door open and as he turned around he saw Dudley stepping out on the porch.

"Hey! What are you doing in our yard?" Harry's cousin yelled. He must have been heard in the entire neighbourhood.

"I met Harry the other day when I was lost and he was kind enough to point me the way. I stopped by when I recognised him to thank him and to tell him that I did, indeed, get to where I was headed." Dudley looked confused for a second or two while he tried to interpret what Alexis had said. He also stepped closer while a calculating look settled over his face.

"Wouldn't you rather speak to me?" Dudley asked.

"What on earth for?" Alexis replied. Harry felt a bit left out, Alexis was his friend, not Dudley's, why did his cousin have to ruin this too?

"Who wants to talk to a freak anyways? I'm much better than him. I've even won some boxing titles." Alexis looked blankly at Dudley for a second or two before an amused smile touched her lips. Emilio didn't look quite as amused. Harry suddenly saw what was amusing, Dudley were trying to hit on Alexis. That thought almost left him retching. Sure, Alexis didn't look bad, she even looked nice, but she was at least 5 to 10 years older than them and she didn't look as if she was going to pick Dudley up on his offer.

"Harry was quite able to show me the way to where I was going, which was what I wanted. I don't understand what boxing has got to do with anything." Alexis replied.

"Everyone knows that girls dig that kind of things." Dudley replied and Alexis blinked a couple of times.

"I really don't know how to reply to that." She started. She didn't get time to finish before Dudley spoke again.

"Wanna come with me to see a film tomorrow?"

"Eh… I really don't think my fiancé would like that." Alexis said as Emilio put both arms around her from behind and glared at Dudley from above Alexis' shoulder. If Harry hadn't been afraid of what his cousin might retaliate with he would have laughed at Dudley's crestfallen expression. It turned ugly, though. Dudley apparently didn't like competition. Harry silently watched as his cousin's face grew redder and redder, almost but not quite reaching that particular shade of magenta that Vernon often wore when angry.

"Then break up with him!" Dudley exclaimed. Unfortunately he was loud enough to attract his mother's attention.

"What's going on here?" Petunia's voice was shrill and Harry was certain that everyone on the street was now watching the proceedings on the Dursleys' lawn.

"She won't go on a date with me! Harry ruins everything!" Dudley complained to his mother who walked over to them.

"It's all right Duddykins, mum's here, you don't need to date that kind of girl." Harry had been watching his aunt trying to comfort her son but he saw something in the corner of his eye. Both men that had come with Alexis had stiffened and both were shooting angry glances at his aunt and cousin. Alexis motioned Harry to the side. Neither of his relatives seemed to notice that they moved, Petunia kept trying to calm her son down by agreeing that he was a very good looking boy and he was so handsome and she couldn't understand why anyone would say no to him. By the look on Alexis face Harry concluded that she'd heard his aunt's words too and found them equally outrageous.

"I will have to leave now, Harry. If you need to contact me just say so and one of your guards will appear."

"And how will I know that it's a guard and not someone else?"

"It will be pretty obvious but if you want proof just ask them to show you their ring. They should have a silver ring on their right hand, just like this one." She showed him a plain silver ring that didn't have any particular markings, at all.

"Um… okay." Harry said, wondering how he would be able to differ one silver ring from another.

"Don't worry. The guards will keep you safe. Even if you leave the wards." Alexis said the last with a bit of a wink. Harry wasn't quite sure how to respond to that.

"Alexis, please don't give him ideas. They have problems enough as it is… with you." Emilio said, but by the tone of his voice Harry could tell that he was joking.

"You make it sound as if I'm the only one creating trouble. I happen to remember when my Father..." She left it hanging as she smirked at Emilio. She turned back to Harry. "Don't worry Harry, just do what you want to. If you need help just ask them."

"But… you do know that the Death Eaters have magic. And they aren't very nice people."

"Death Eaters?" Emilio asked, looking as if he was going to start laughing.

"That's what Voldemort's followers are called." Harry answered. He thought that Emilio mumbled the words 'death eater' again before looking away. Both Alexis and the blond man looked equally amused.

"Don't worry about the magic, I'm sure they'll cope. If not, they'll take you back here, where the wards will stop the magic. Because they will, won't they?" Alexis looked around as if she would be able to see the wards.

"They should." Harry said. He knew that the wards we're supposed to protect him against his enemies but he had no idea how they worked. Would they stop curses or just the people? And what about guns? Well, Harry amended, maybe the guns part was over the top, he couldn't really see the pureblood elitists of Voldemort's forces using something as muggle as a gun.

"Well, if they don't I'm sure the guards will figure something out. It's their job, after all."

"Um… may I ask something?" Harry asked, uncertain.

"Sure."

"Are all guards blond?" As Harry said this Alexis smiled a bit.

"No, just mine. And Father's." She answered.

"Why?" Harry couldn't stop that question.

"I don't know. You'd have to ask Father that but I also don't think that's a good idea."

"Ok." Harry squeaked. The look in Alexis' eyes when she'd said that last part hadn't been an overly nice one. She hadn't looked mean but it was something there. Harry decided that he didn't want to meet with Alexis' father. At least not anytime soon. He was a bit curious, though. Harry saw, and heard, that Dudley had gotten over his 'love' for Alexis and was now trying to cajole his mother into buying him a computer. Petunia promised to speak to Vernon on her son's behalf because of course her little Dudders needed a computer to do his schoolwork on.

"I will have to go now, Harry, but we'll meet again. Bye!" Alexis offered and they started to walk off. The blond man, who had previously been quiet, started talking softly to Alexis in a language Harry didn't recognise.

"Good bye!" He said and waved them off. He returned to the driveway and the hose he'd abandoned while talking to Alexis. His aunt had, thankfully, managed to get Dudley to go back inside, apparently the sun wasn't good for Duddykins' delicate skin. Harry was just happy to be rid of them, it meant that he could do his chore uninterrupted, and hopefully without getting yelled at.

The rest of Harry's summer passed more or less quietly. He still had chores to complete but they seemed to take up less and less time of his day. Especially those chores that we're supposed to be done outside of the house. The garden seemed to almost have weeded itself. Harry wouldn't have minded doing that, or similar, chores. They we're relatively easy and though they took time they didn't require much effort. He also enjoyed the possibility of spending time outside now that the weather had turned to the better.

Mostly Harry stayed at the house but from time to time he left the wards to go someplace else, mostly just to get away. He felt less guilty of doing so now when he knew that he had guards that didn't care that he left the wards. Not that he ever saw them, though. He'd woken one night to hear some odd sounds from outside his window. He hadn't seen anything in the dark but it had sounded as if someone was wrestling in the neighbour's hedge. In the morning Harry went out to investigate and he did find a couple of traces that there had been a struggle there. A few twigs and leaves from the bushes had been strewn around in the grass and he could spot a broken twig or two on the bush. It could have been done by a large dog or something but Harry doubted that. It was also the shoeprint that looked as if it had been made from a dress shoe, something that's not overly common in back garden. Harry had quickly smoothed out the soil where the print had been, no one needed to see it.

As summers do, this one also drew to an end. The last night of freedom, as Harry called it, before going back to Hogwarts he spent staying up, outside. He'd managed to sneak away and neither his aunt nor his uncle had missed him, they were too busy doting their son, who would leave for school the same day Harry did. They sky was clear and though it did get a bit chilly Harry marvelled at the sky and his last chance to be alone… well, relatively speaking. Hogwarts was great but it was very hard to find solitude there.

Harry busied his mind trying to name the constellations in the sky, doing most everything not to have to think about Sirius. He'd thought about him a lot this summer and he felt that he'd thought enough. He didn't want to forget his godfather but Harry'd come to the conclusion that maybe if he tried to not think about Sirius some of the pain would go away.


End file.
